FIFA President Sepp Blatter has spoken out about the recent spate of injuries affecting the 2014 World Cup.

Blatter told reporters, “[it’s] too long a season and always the same players are always in the same competitions. Now they are tired.”

He may have a point. Diego Costa and Cristiano Ronaldo, both of whom played in the Champions League final, are struggling to shake off injuries. Franck Ribéry and Marco Reus both played in the German Cup final, and both have seen their World Cup dreams fall by the wayside.

However, Riccardo Montolivio, who broke a leg in Italy’s friendly with Ireland, saw his Milan side’s Champions League hopes ended by March. Radamel Falcao and Monaco were only playing in domestic competitions, as were Kevin Strootman and Roma, and Christian Benteke and Aston Villa.

Besides, can injuries such as broken legs really be blamed on the amount of matches played in a season?

Perhaps Blatter should consider examining friendlies – which aren’t always so friendly. Brazil’s win over Serbia certainly showed that, as did the hard tackling of the Honduras players in Saturday night’s goalless draw with England.

Such friendlies do carry weight. They’re factored in when FIFA ranks international squads, which in turn affects which teams are seeded for international tournaments, thus giving them more favorable draws. These warmups have also been stages upon which teams can signal their preparedness for the World Cup, hoping to send a warning for other sides to not discount them quite so soon.

Obviously friendlies aren’t the only problem. But quite a few players were set to board the plane, only to be left behind due to an injury picked up in a warm-up match. Montolivo and Reus are two such players. So too is Nigeria’s Elderson. Costa Rica’s Álvaro Saborío and Holland’s Rafael van der Vaart picked up injuries while preparing for the World Cup.

Maybe, in addition to reconsidering the structure of the soccer calendar, in which many players feature in two (or more) games per week, it’s also time to put some thought into how friendlies in general, and World Cup preparation in particular, should be handled.

With the first section labelled “basically, free money” for the picks I think are dead certs. The section labelled “don’t touch this” means if you’re betting I advise you to stay clear, while the “so you’re telling me there’s a chance” section are the longshots. If it is better odds you are after, those are the picks to go for.

Watford host Everton on Saturday (7:30 a.m. ET live NBCSN and online via NBC Sports.com) at Vicarage Road to kick things off with both teams out of form and desperate for a win.

Then Arsenal welcome Stoke City to the Emirates Stadium (10 a.m. ET live NBCSN andonline via NBC Sports.com) as Arsene Wenger‘s side look to stretch their unbeaten run to 14 games in the Premier League against a resurgent Potters outfit.

As the same time struggling Swansea City and Sunderland clash (10 a.m. ET live CNBC and online via NBC Sports.com) in a massive relegation battle at the Liberty Stadium. Can Bob Bradley get a big win?

Rounding things off on Saturday we have a big game for two teams in contrasting situations as Leicester City host Manchester City (12:30 p.m. ET live NBC and online via NBC Sports.com) at the King Power Stadium with Claudio Ranieri‘s side in a relegation battle. As for Pep Guardiola and City, they haven’t had it all their own way recently but are just four points off top spot.

On Sunday league-leader Chelsea host West Brom (7 a.m. ET live NBCSN and online via NBC Sports.com) with Antonio Conte‘s boys aiming to make it eight-straight wins in the Premier League but the in-form Baggies stand in the way. Then Manchester United and Tottenham collide at Old Trafford (9:15 a.m. ET live on NBCSN and online via NBC Sports.com) in one of the games of the weekend as both teams still harbor title aspirations but look more likely to simply challenge for the top four this season.

To round Week 15 off Liverpool welcome struggling West Ham to Anfield (11:30 a.m. ET live NBCSN and online via NBC Sports.com) with Jurgen Klopp‘s men aiming to get over their shocking defeat at Bournemouth, while Slaven Bilic‘s Hammers will take anything they can get from this trip.

If you’re looking for full-event replays of Premier League games, you can find them here. They are available soon after the final whistle, but rights limit us to a certain number each week. Looking for game highlights? Try this. Here’s your full TV schedule for the coming days. Enjoy.